XDefiant - Review: The Competitor That Call of Duty Desperately Needs

Update 12/08/24

On December 3rd Ubisoft announced that no new players will be able to download the game and that it will be shutting down on June 3rd of 2025

Satisfaction: 4/5

XDefiant is supposed to be Ubisoft’s answer to Call of Duty, and I think they have done a pretty good job. I’m not certain it has the staying power to thrive long-term, especially since Ubisoft has already stated it’s falling behind, however I’m hopeful.

There are some issues with the game, but overall, it’s fun to play, and Call of Duty really needs a competitor.

Tech: 3.5/5

Performance-wise, the game runs well. I have even been able to play on my SteamDeck at 60FPS with the occasional stutter. I have seen a number of complaints regarding performance since Season 2 started, but I cannot comment on this as I have not experienced this, and I only started playing after the season launched. However, this is something the developers have confirmed they are working to improve.

I have also seen a lot of complaints about the netcode, and have experienced some issues with it myself. Every once in a while it does seem like shots just don’t connect, or you are killed after getting behind cover, however in the time I’ve played this doesn’t seem to be a major issue. The developers also seem to be actively working to improve this, they recently released a patch to address this.

Atmosphere: 3/5

Although graphics aren’t important for this type of game, it still looks great. The weapons, characters, and levels all have a very high fidelity. However, the available skins are unappealing. While the quality is high, many, like the Varsity-themed skins, are poorly designed and feel out of place.

Audio-wise, I think the game does well. Be it the gun sounds or the in-game music, it all sounds great. The only area needing improvement is footstep audio, which can be hard to track at times.

Replayability: 3/5

As a live service game, there is not as much content as I would have expected, however there is a lot more content coming which is outlined in the year 1 roadmap. As for what’s currently in the game, I was able to unlock all the available factions, characters, and guns in around 50 hours. But as the core gameplay works well, it is fun to play, even if you are just hopping on to play a few matches.

Pros:

• Excellent gameplay
• Very easy to pick up and play
• The game looks good and the audio and music is done well
• Good performance and no stability issues

Cons:

• Net code can be hit or miss (This is something they are actively working on)
• Queue times can be slow

Where to download?

• Ubisoft